Thursday 28 May 2015

Roccat Kave XTD 5.1 Analog

Roccat Kave XTD 5.1 Analog

Become completely surround in sound

Roccat has had a good run of decent gaming peripherals of late. The Tyon mice range and Ryos keyboards have all scored highly in both the eyes of reviewers and gamers alike.

The same can be said for the headsets on offer, in particular the Kave range. We've reviewed a Kave headset from Roccat in the past and found it to be a great addition to the gamer's arsenal. Now, though, we've managed to get our hands on the higher end of the Kave scale, the Kave XTD 5.1 Analog.

ThumbsUp Neoglow Earphones

ThumbsUp Neoglow Earphones

We look at some 'flashy' budget earphones

Most technology products, like USB hubs and wireless keyboards, are created to solve a problem or make life easier. Nevertheless, there has always been and always will be plenty of room for more frivolous items too. From telephones shaped like hamburgers to pen drives that resemble cartoon characters, these features add nothing other than a kitsch appeal and sense of fun. Quite often the actual functionality of these products is bog standard at best. Is that the case with the Neoglow earphones, though?

BenQ GW2765HT

BenQ GW2765HT

Looking for an IPS, WQHD monitor for under £300? Then read on...

Despite advances in monitor technology, trying to find a good IPS display that can hit WQHD resolutions for under £300 is still something of a gamble. There are a number of them available, but finding the right one, with decent connectivity and from a company you can trust can be fairly difficult.

BenQ, though, may have the answer in the form of the GW2765HT. This is a 27" IPS monitor with a resolution of 2560 x 1440, and using the Flicker-Free BenQ Eye-Care technology to deliver a stunning image that's easy on the eyes.

Ashampoo Music Studio 6

Ashampoo Music Studio 6

Ashampoo presents an upgrade to its Music Studio suite

This is an update to the Ashampoo's Music Studio program that I reviewed last year. For those that are not familiar with the product, it's essentially a collection of associated utilities collated into a main menu. They cover all the essentials from extracting or recording your audio files, through modifying and organising them, to finally burning the results to CD or hard drive. It also includes a basic method of labelling them as well.

ViewSonic VP2780-4k

ViewSonic VP2780-4k

ViewSonic tries to muscle into the professional market with a new 4K screen

Not long ago, I covered ViewSonic's VX2880ml, a 28" 4K screen for less than £500. The problem with that display was that it only supported 30Hz in 4K resolution, making it less than optimal for gamers.

Learning from those lessons clearly, the VP2780-4K is a marginally smaller 27" panel that can deliver 60Hz operations at full resolution, even if it's really built for CAD engineers and photographers.

Quiet PC UltraNUC Pro

Quiet PC UltraNUC Pro

Just when you think a performance PC couldn't get any smaller...

We've had our share of ultra-compact PCs through our door of late, and most have left us with a very positive impression. However, there is one tiny PC that has so far eluded our test bench: the Intel NUC - until now, of course.

The Intel NUC (Next Unit of Computing) bare-bones platform has quite a following these days, thanks to the amount of computing performance that can be shoehorned into such a diminutive case.

Pioneer FREEme

Pioneer FREEme

Michael checks out a portable Bluetooth speaker

With the tagline of 'Listen in Style', Pioneer has released its FREEme Bluetooth speaker product, which delivers audio output from two 40mm full-range speakers backed up by passive radiator. This portable device has dimensions of 151 x 45.5 x 8.2mm and weighs 361 g, so it can easily be transported in a pocket or bag. Two versions of the product are available. The IF1 model comes in a choice of black, white or aqua rubber covering, while the more expensive IF3 version has a choice of black or brown leather livery. My review unit was the black IF1 FREEme.

How Easy Is It To Hack A Wireless Network?

How Easy Is It To Hack A Wireless Network

With wireless networks commonplace, are we becoming complacent? David Crookes looks at how safe your network really is

Seconds. Mere seconds. That is the figure many an expert will tell you measures the time it takes for a hacker to infiltrate a home network. It may sound alarmist, it may be designed to make you sit up and listen, but a study five years ago showed that half of home wi-fi networks could be hacked in less than five seconds, and the situation does not appear to have become better since.